Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Who doesn’t know McDonald’s? One of the most popular fast food restaurants in the world ‘M’ logo and the iconic Ronald McDonald clown mascot.
McDonald’s is recorded as having the largest number of outlets in the world, namely more than 40 thousand restaurants. This number is more than other fast food restaurants.
Based on McDonald’s annual report in 2022, this fast food restaurant has 40,275 restaurants, 95% of which are franchises spread across more than 100 countries.
Even though it has tens of thousands of outlets throughout the world, it turns out there are countries that don’t have a McDonald’s. According to the World Population Review report, there are nine countries in the world that prohibit McDonald’s.
So, what are these countries? Here’s the summary.
1. Bermuda
Before it was declared illegal, one McDonald’s outlet was located in Bermuda until 1995. However, currently McDonald’s certainly does not have a single outlet in this small country.
Bermuda reportedly has had laws banning foreign fast food restaurants since the 1970s. However, McDonald’s managed to find a gap in 1985 by building a McDonald’s restaurant at the US Naval Air Station or United States Naval Air Station (US).
In 1995, the base was closed, resulting in McDonald’s having to close too.
2. Iran
Iran and the US have a notorious decades-long feud. As a result, McDonald’s from the US has not been allowed and has been declared illegal to open outlets in Iran since 1979.
Interestingly, Iran actually created a replacement for McDonald’s, namely Mash Donald’s.
3. Macedonia
Macedonia is a small country located on the Balkan Peninsula, Southern Europe where McDonald’s is prohibited.
According to Reader’s Digest, McDonald’s opened seven branches in Macedonia, some of which are in the country’s capital, Skopje. In 2013, the McDonald’s franchise group was found to not have an official license so all outlets in Macedonia were closed.
Since then, the Macedonian Government has decided to no longer cooperate with McDonald’s.
4. Yemen
Yemen’s unstable economy makes McDonald’s reluctant to open outlets in one of these Middle Eastern countries.
Apart from that, a number of extremist groups in Yemen have also threatened militant action against any McDonald’s that dares to open a restaurant in the country with the capital Sana’a.
5. North Korea
North Korea led by Kim Jong Un is a country that has ‘closed’ itself from foreign influence. Therefore, it is not surprising that McDonald’s is strictly prohibited from opening outlets in North Korea.
However, according to a report by The Telegraph, a number of elite members of the North Korean government managed to smuggle McDonald’s from South Korea for personal consumption.
6. Zimbabwe
In 2000, McDonald’s tried to introduce itself to one of these countries in Africa, namely when Zimbabwe experienced a major economic collapse.
However, McDonald’s International Franchising said that it has no concrete plans to open its outlets in most African countries.
7. Iceland
McDonald’s business was ‘destroyed’ in Iceland in 2009 due to a major economic crisis and expensive import tariffs on meat, one of the raw materials the company needs.
Apart from that, the Icelandic government is said to not like the existence of McDonald’s because Iceland is a country that really cares about health. However, McDonald’s is reportedly considering opening another branch in the country.
8. Bolivia
Unlike other countries, McDonald’s was the party that chose to leave Bolivia, even though McDonald’s was not banned directly by the government of that country.
Meanwhile, the reason McDonald’s withdrew from Bolivia in 2002 was poor sales, aka not selling. This is because Bolivian people are said to be reluctant to buy burgers from foreign companies.
In fact, the President of Bolivia at that time said that McDonald’s did not care about people’s health and only cared about company profits.
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(mkh/mkh)